I’m not going to comment directly with regards to the sad crash itself, but, the conversation in this thread is something I find very interesting.
There is a lot of talk about the selection of the wrong item and the pilot monitoring (or any other term for the pilot not flying) doing their duties correctly.
It’s something that I have considered and raised a lot over the years. I have often found myself, lets just call it PNF, and on numerous occasions the pilot flying, while I was on the radio talking to ATC or engaged in some other critical task at that point, and I notice them sitting there, pointing to a selection lever be it flaps or undercarriage, and just continuously pointing while looking at me then the lever, then back to me than the lever……..
I tend to ignore them, finish the task I was doing, then ask them, ‘did they want something’ although a lot of the time, as soon as I have finished the transmission, they say straight away “I need the flaps/undercarriage selected”. So I ask if they still want it to which they normally reply “Yes”. So I make a point of looking at the ASI, speaking out loud the air speed is within limits, then verbally announce the selection I’m making, then verbally announce the said selection is actually in transit, then verbally announce the selection has been successful. The bright people soon realise the point I’m making. The others don’t, and want to start a conversation about it. I say we will concentrate on the flight, then discuss afterwards. The amount of people that think it’s ok to just point at something, while the other person is engaged in a task and expect them to just do it amazes me.
If you need it there and then, then do it yourself and bring the other pilot into the loop as soon as they are free. If you can’t manage that yourself, then wait until the other person is free then ask for the selection, so the safety is still there to check and cross check the correct selection is made.